Composite materials, including carbon fiber epoxy impregnated laminates, are commonly used in applications requiring high strength and light weight. Forming composite material ply packages or charges has generally been done by hand, especially when the laminate plys of the composite materials exceed 0.25 inch in thickness. Forming large compound shaped composite material charges over a forming tool or mandrel can often take 2 to 3 days. The laid-up parts are then cured.
Machines have been utilized to form composite material charges over forming mandrel. However, these methods and systems have not been able to form composite charges with aggregate laminate ply thicknesses greater than 0.25 inches without buckling or out-of-plane fiber distortion. Further, machine forming systems have been configured for single part manufacturing and have not been reconfigurable. Alignment of the composite charges over the mandrels prior to forming has been difficult. Also, in multiple part manufacturing facilities, the storage, transport, and handling of mandrels and forming devices for different parts has been cumbersome, especially when multiple large parts, such as spars for aircraft, are being fabricated.
Therefore, a need exists for composite charge forming methods and systems which flexibly form a multitude of parts, including parts with complex surfaces or ply thicknesses greater than 0.25 inches, quickly align the composite charges relative to the forming mandrels, and provide efficient and space effective means for handling and operating the machine components required for forming large scale composite parts.